Page 37 of Might as Well

His demeanor softens as if all the fight leaves him, allowing me to relax. “Yeah, Vi, I am. I’ll bring her over for dinner soon.”

My phone vibrates in my pocket with a text. I’m surprised to see it’s Sydney. She’s extending an offer to see a game once again. I take her up on it.

A little while later, I’m swarmed by spouses of Zane’s teammates. Sydney insisted since it’s my first official game as Zane’s wife, I wear the Rebels T-shirt with Zane’s name across the back that she brought me. Seeing the ice today hits differentthan the last time I was here. Not only have I been on that ice, but my husband is down there warming up. A feeling bubbles up inside me. Pride, maybe?

Sydney quietly points out folks I’ve met before to refresh me of their names. A group approaches me, Sylvia leading the way. She smiles brightly at me as she greets me, but her greeting is quickly followed by, “So, what are your intentions with our Zane?”

My eyes widen. Thankfully, I’m saved from a response as a woman bursts into the room and shouts, “I’m pregnant!”

I wince as the room erupts in cheers and squeals. Everyone rushes to her.

“That’s Meredith Ramsey,” Sydney shares, staying close by. “She’s been a bit MIA and now we know why. She wasn’t getting pregnant right away and was discouraged, but seems like everything has worked out. You’re off the hook from Sylvia’s interrogations for the night.”

Thank goodness for that. “Is she always like that?” I ask.

“Yeah, but she means well. And if you tell her to leave you alone, she will. Zane was pretty upset after things went south with Deanna and he’s such a nice guy; no one wants to see him get his heart broken again.”

“I don’t think it’s him you have to worry about,” I mutter under my breath but from the corner of my eye, I see her glance over at me.

We contentedly watch the warm-ups in silence and once the puck drops, Sydney explains the game to me. But in the midst of doing that, she attempts to learn more about me, and it doesn’t escape my notice that some of the women eavesdrop on our conversation. Whatever. It doesn’t really matter.

“Do you have a lot of family nearby?” she asks.

“The only family I have is my younger brother and he’s enlisting in the military.” Graham and I really need to talk; I don’t even know which branch he’s interested in.

“I’m sorry,” she replies softly. “Kayla seems to enjoy working for you.”

I’m thankful for the topic change. “She’s great.” Glancing over, I realize Deanna sits nearby; she’s probably listening as well. For some reason, I find myself leaning forward and saying, “Zane said we’d probably hit it off.” The group of women falls silent as I address Deanna. “I design cross-stitch patterns. He was saying you owned a craft store?”

“Yeah, a fabric store. My focus is quilting,” she replies.

“That’s cool.”

The horn sounds, alerting of a goal. I smile as I watch a group of Rebels collide for a hug and pats of congratulations. My gaze lifts to the big screen hanging over the ice shows the replay. The announcer’s voice booms across the arena as he mentions Zane’s name in relation to the goal.

As the crowd roars for a second time, I understand even more what Zane was trying to convey when he brought me here. The atmosphere is amazing. No wonder he loves his job. As I look around and take in the group of spouses, I can also see why Zane considers them family.

“They are about to leave on a road trip,” Sydney says. “If you want to hang out or anything while he’s gone, just text me.”

“Thanks.” Maybe I’ll take her up on that.

After the game, Zane finds me and the grin he sends my way causes warmth to flood my body.

“I only have a few minutes; we’re leaving for our trip tonight,” he reminds me. Zane cups my face, the world falls away, and he kisses me as if his life depends on it. His mouth trails along my jaw until he reaches my ear. “When I get back, I want you in bed wearing my jersey.”

I grin. What is it with guys and jerseys? Zane kisses me once more and then he leaves. I’ll have to find a jersey before he returns because if his kiss was anything to go on, when he gets back, we’ll be in bed for a quite a while.

I’m reviewing resumes with the nightly news on in the background. I’ve been having a hard time sleeping since Zane left on his latest road trip, so I’ve been avoiding going to bed while wishing he was here. Sleep is always so sound when he’s around. Thirsty, I get up to fix myself a glass of water.

“This just in, the Carolina Rebels, who are in California for a stretch of games, were traveling on a bus when there was a crash. It is unknown at this time about any injuries or the cause of the accident. The Rebels…”

As the words register, my glass falls and shatters at my feet. An accident? Oh, god. It’s finally happened. Something is going wrong in the worst imaginable way. What if he’s hurt? Or dead? My chest hollows out.

As if on autopilot, I run to my room, for what I’m not sure yet.

“Vi,” Graham pokes his head in. “Jesus, what did you do? Vi. Violet!” He swings me around and plants me on the edge of my bed. “Don’t move. You’ve got cuts all on your feet.”

Zane. Dear god, what if I’ve lost him? Graham is joining the Marines and then I will truly be alone. Will anyone even tell me he’s hurt? Or worse? Inch by inch, my body seems to shut down. Graham taking care of my feet goes unnoticed. Why am I sitting here? I snatch my phone and bolt out of the house while Graham is in the bathroom.

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